SALEM -- In his 30 years in prison, Gary Haugen has had bouts of drug-induced psychosis that brought on visions, voices and paranoia.

His drug use, at one point, led him to cut his own neck with a razor blade in 1988.

But the 49-year-old death row inmate, who wants to waive his legal challenges and be executed, has shown no signs of psychosis since quitting illegal drugs several years ago, said Richard Hulteng, a Portland psychologist who examined Haugen and reviewed his medical records.

After hearing Hulteng's testimony and evaluation, Marion County Circuit Judge Joseph Guimond found that Haugen is competent to engage in choices about his legal strategies and that he has a rational understanding of the reasons for his execution.

The finding, while crucial, doesn't clear the way for an execution. The judge canceled an Aug. 16 execution date after the Oregon Supreme Court intervened, ordering him to first hold a full competency hearing with an evaluation by an Oregon Health Authority representative.

Guimond still must ask Haugen a series of questions before deciding to issue a death warrant. That won't take place until after an Oct. 7 hearing when the judge will meet with lawyers to work out the next steps in the process.

Guimond acknowledged Haugen's disappointment over the delay.

The drawn-out process also is difficult for family members of the people Haugen killed, said Ard Pratt, the ex-husband of Mary Archer. Haugen raped and beat Archer in her Northeast Portland home in 1981. Archer was the mother of Haugen's former girlfriend.

Haugen also killed David Polin, an inmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary, in 2003, the conviction that sent him and his accomplice to death row.

"I just wish they would get it over with," Pratt said, describing the painful disruption as the families have prepared for an execution only to have the process stopped and restarted.

The new psychological findings contradict the affidavit of Portland neuropsychologist Muriel Lezak, who met with Haugen in May. It was Lezak's affidavit, provided by Haugen's former attorneys, that prompted the state Supreme Court to step in.

Hulteng concluded that Haugen doesn't suffer from major cognitive problems and hasn't shown psychotic behavior, though the inmate does appear to have a personality disorder and exhibits anti-social behavior.

He also may have "grandiose" notions that his execution could cause change in the legal system, Hulteng said. But he's not delusional, Hulteng said.

The psychologist said Haugen told him that Lezak may have made her determination in part after she asked Haugen to draw a bike. Haugen "had a brain lock," he told Hulteng, and drew a bike that "you couldn't even ride."

Lezak also noted Haugen's slowness to respond to her questions, but he was trying to be deliberate and speak slowly enough for her to take notes, Haugen said in his conversations with Hulteng.

Hulteng also outlined Haugen's childhood, noting that he started stealing at age 12, was regularly drinking alcohol by age 13 or 14 and picked up a drug habit by sixth-grade. Born to an abusive father and a mother with drug and alcohol addictions, Haugen was in and out of foster homes and schools throughout his childhood.

Haugen told Hulteng that the physical abuse and problems in his family took a toll.

Quoting Haugen, the psychologist read from his report: "There became an age where all I wanted to do was fight, steal, have sex and get loaded. I stole cars, I stole guns, I stole numerous things and that was my life. I was surviving on the street in any way I could."

It was his way of forgetting or dealing with his childhood, Haugen said. He smoked marijuana, but also took part in sports, playing on baseball and basketball teams.

Haugen would gets Bs and Cs in school if he applied himself, but finally dropped out of school in 11th-grade, Hulteng said. He later earned his GED in prison and earned credits toward an associate's degree in metallurgy.

His drug use continued in prison, Hulteng said. Haugen told him that inmates were allowed to smoke marijuana in his early years at the penitentiary, although that "tightened up later on." He also got over his fear of needles while in prison, where he started using drugs intravenously, Hulteng said.

But the drug use caused mental health problems, Hulteng noted. In 1988, due to "too much drugs" Haugen told Hulteng, he cut his own neck with a razor blade and spent the next 24 hours in the mental health unit. In 2001 and 2002, Haugen said, he was hearing voices and seeing visions out of the corner of his eye.

The paranoia and visions faded after Haugen said he stopped using methamphetamine sometime in 2001 or 2002. He told Hulteng that he last used marijuana in 2003.

Hulteng met with Haugen for more than 10 hours over two days and reviewed medical records, previous psychological evaluations and other documents in conducting his evaluation.

Guimond ordered that the evaluation remain confidential, despite the public testimony. In addition, several people attended all or part of the evaluation, Hulteng said, including state Department of Corrections and Marion County Sheriff's Office personnel and a professor from George Fox University. The Oregonian, along with the Statesman Journal and The Associated Press, have filed a request to unseal the evaluation.

Hulteng also in 1997 conducted the evaluation of Harry Charles Moore -- the last person to be executed in Oregon.